QCD Corrections to b→sγγb\to s\gamma\gamma and Exclusive Bs→γγB_s\to \gamma\gamma Decay

The short distance QCD corrections to $b\to s\gamma \gamma$ are calculated in the leading logarithmic approximation. The equivalence of operator basis reduction for S-matrix elements by using the equations of motion or by proving a low energy theorem is discussed. We apply the above results to the exclusive $B_s\to \gamma\gamma$ decay. The branching ratio of this decay is found to be $5\times 10^{-7}$ in the Standard Model. We also found that QCD corrections modify considerably the ratio between CP-even and CP-odd two-photon amplitudes.Comment: revtex, 15 pages, 2 figures; revised version with corrections from electroweak penguin discussed, the conclusion remains unchange

Enhancing performance of ZnO dye-sensitized solar cells by incorporation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A low-temperature, direct blending procedure was used to prepare composite films consisting of zinc oxide [ZnO] nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotubes [MWNTs]. The mesoporous ZnO/MWNT films were fabricated into the working electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells [DSSCs]. The pristine MWNTs were modified by an air oxidation or a mixed acid oxidation treatment before use. The mixed acid treatment resulted in the disentanglement of MWNTs and facilitated the dispersion of MWNTs in the ZnO matrix. The effects of surface property and loading of MWNTs on DSSC performance were investigated. The performance of DSSCs was found to depend greatly on the type and the amount of MWNTs incorporated. At a loading of 0.01 wt%, the acid-treated MWNTs were able to increase the power conversion efficiency of fabricated cells from 2.11% (without MWNTs) to 2.70%

Safety and Efficacy of Tien-Hsien Liquid Practical in Patients with Refractory Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group, Phase IIa Trial

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Tien-Hsien Liquid Practical (THL-P), a Chinese herbal mixture, in patients with refractory metastatic breast cancer, we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, phase IIa pilot trial. Patients were randomly assigned to either receive THL-P or matching placebo and followed up every 4 weeks for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was changes in the global health status/quality of life (GHS/QOL) scale. The secondary endpoints were changes in functional and symptom scales, immunomodulating effects, and adverse events. Sixty-three patients were enrolled between June 2009 and June 2011. The intent-to-treat population included 28 patients in the THL-P group and 11 patients in the placebo group. Compared to the placebo group, the THL-P group had significant improvement from baseline to last visit in GHS/QOL (41.7 versus −33.3; P < 0.05), CD3, CD4/CD8, CD19, CD16+56 positive cells (P < 0.05), and higher levels of physical, role, emotional, and cognitive functioning, as well as decreased fatigue and systemic side effects. Treatment-related adverse events were mild constipation and localized itching, and no serious adverse events were reported. THL-P appears to be a safe alternative adjuvant treatment for patients with refractory metastatic breast cancer, as it effectively improves QOL and palliates cancer-related symptoms

Application of Hydrodynamic Model for Sedimentary Management in Alishan River

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

A huge traumatic pulmonary pseudocyst

AbstractTraumatic pulmonary pseudocyst (TPP) is a rare complication following blunt trauma. We report a 26-year-old male patient who presented to the emergency room with internal bleeding and shock. Huge TPP (14 cm in diameter) was seen on whole-body computed tomography scan and complicated with bronchial bleeding. He deteriorated to respiratory failure soon after arriving at the emergency room. TPPs imply high-energy impact on the chest region and frequently complicated with pulmonary contusions, hemo- and pneumo-thorax, multiple rib fractures, flail chest, and concurrent with abdominal injuries. Emergency physicians should be aware of such rare entity and manage correctly

Enhancement of tolerance development to morphine in rats prenatally exposed to morphine, methadone, and buprenorphine

[[abstract]]BACKGROUND: Abuse of addictive substances is a serious problem that has a significant impact on areas such as health, the economy, and public safety. Heroin use among young women of reproductive age has drawn much attention around the world. However, there is a lack of information on effects of prenatal exposure to opioids on their offspring. In this study, an animal model was established to study effects of prenatal exposure to opioids on offspring. METHODS: Female pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were sub-grouped to receive (1) vehicle, (2) 2-4 mg/kg morphine (1 mg/kg increment per week), (3) 7 mg/kg methadone, and (4) 3 mg/kg buprenorphine, subcutaneously, once or twice a day from E3 to E20. The experiments were conducted on animals 8-12 weeks old and with body weight between 250 and 350 g. RESULTS: Results showed that prenatal exposure to buprenorphine caused higher mortality than other tested substance groups. Although we observed a significantly lower increase in body weight in all of the opioid-administered dams, the birth weight of the offspring was not altered in all treated groups. Moreover, no obvious behavioral abnormality or body-weight difference was noted during the growing period (8-12 weeks) in all offspring. When the male offspring received morphine injection twice a day for 4 days, the prenatally opioid-exposed rats more quickly developed a tolerance to morphine (as shown by the tail-flick tests), most notably the prenatally buprenorphine-exposed offspring. However, the tolerance development to methadone or buprenorphine was not different in offspring exposed prenatally to methadone or buprenorphine, respectively, when compared with that of the vehicle controlled group. Similar results were also obtained in the female animals. CONCLUSIONS: Animals prenatally exposed to morphine, methadone, or buprenorphine developed tolerance to morphine faster than their controlled mates. In our animal model, prenatal exposure to buprenorphine also resulted in higher mortality and much less sensitivity to morphine-induced antinociception than prenatal exposure to morphine or methadone. This indicates that buprenorphine in higher doses may not be an ideal maintenance drug for treating pregnant women. This study provides a reference in selecting doses for clinical usage in treating pregnant heroin addicts

LenSiam: Self-Supervised Learning on Strong Gravitational Lens Images

Self-supervised learning has been known for learning good representations from data without the need for annotated labels. We explore the simple siamese (SimSiam) architecture for representation learning on strong gravitational lens images. Commonly used image augmentations tend to change lens properties; for example, zoom-in would affect the Einstein radius. To create image pairs representing the same underlying lens model, we introduce a lens augmentation method to preserve lens properties by fixing the lens model while varying the source galaxies. Our research demonstrates this lens augmentation works well with SimSiam for learning the lens image representation without labels, so we name it LenSiam. We also show that a pre-trained LenSiam model can benefit downstream tasks. We open-source our code and datasets at https://github.com/kuanweih/LenSiam .Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted by NeurIPS 2023 AI for Science Worksho